Congress Parliamentary Party Chairperson Sonia Gandhi has criticised the Central government for not issuing a firm response to the reported killing of Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, during joint US-Israel military strikes.
“The killing of a sitting head of state in the midst of ongoing negotiations marks a grave rupture in contemporary international relations. Yet, beyond the shock of the event, what stands out equally starkly is New Delhi’s silence,” she stated.
Referring to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s comments on the escalating tensions in West Asia, Gandhi argued, “Initially, ignoring the massive US-Israeli onslaught, the Prime Minister confined himself to condemning Iran’s retaliatory strike on the UAE, without addressing the sequence of events that preceded it. Later, he uttered platitudes about his ‘deep concern’ and talked of ‘dialogue and diplomacy’ — which is precisely what was underway before the massive unprovoked attacks launched by Israel and the US.”
She said subsequent remarks about dialogue and diplomacy appeared inconsistent, given that diplomatic processes had reportedly been underway before the strikes occurred.
Invoking Article 2(4) of the United Nations Charter, she emphasised, “A targeted killing of a serving head of state strikes at the heart of these principles. If such acts pass without principled objection from the world’s largest democracy, the erosion of international norms becomes easier to normalise.”
Gandhi further criticised what she described as unequivocal political backing for the Israeli administration led by Benjamin Netanyahu, calling it a marked shift from India’s traditionally balanced foreign policy approach.
Reference to Historical Ties with Iran
The Congress leader recalled that in 1994, when sections within the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation sought to advance a resolution against India at the UN Commission on Human Rights over Kashmir, Iran intervened diplomatically to prevent it from progressing.
She also pointed to Iran’s role in facilitating India’s strategic presence in Zahedan near the Pakistan border.
Emphasising India’s expanding ties with Israel across defence, agriculture and technology, Gandhi maintained that balanced relations must rest on credibility and principle.
She concluded that India’s longstanding ethos of ‘Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam’ requires clarity, restraint and moral conviction, particularly at a time of mounting instability in West Asia.
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